EVOLUTION 29 



In 1866 he wrote to Hooker concerning the Principles 

 of Biology : — 



' I have now read the last number of Herbert Spencer. 

 I do not know whether to think it better than the previous 

 number, but it is wonderfully clever, and I daresay mostly 

 true. I feel rather mean when I read him: I could bear and 

 rather enjoy feelingthat hewas twice as ingenious and clever 

 as myself, but when I feel that he is about a dozen times my 

 superior, even in the master art of wriggling, I feel aggrieved. 

 If he had trained himself to observe more, even if at the 

 expense, by the law of balancement, of some loss of thinking 

 power, he would have been a wonderful man.' ^ 



In acknowledging the receipt of the complete volume 

 in 1867, he wrote to Spencer : — 



' In many parts of your Principles of Biology I was 

 fairly astonished at the prodigaUty of your original views. 

 Most of the chapters furnished suggestions for whole 

 volumes of future researches.' ^ 



Again, in 1870, writing to Ray Lankester with reference 

 to the work on Comparative Longevity by the latter, 

 Darwin said : — 



' It has also pleased me to see how thoroughly you 

 appreciate (and I do not think this is general with men 

 of science) H. Spencer. I suspect that hereafter he will 

 be looked at as by far the greatest hving philosopher in 

 England ; perhaps equal to any that have lived.' ^ 



Of particular significance also is the following paragraph 

 in a letter to Wallace, written in 1872, with reference to 

 Bastian's work on ' archebiosis ' : — 



'I am not convinced, partly I think owing to the 

 deductive cast of much of his reasoning ; and I know not 

 why, but I never feel convinced by deduction, even in 

 the case of H, Spencer's writings.' * 



> Ibid., vol. iii, p. 55- 



' More Letters, vol. u, p. 44?. Also the letter to Hooker, i866, 

 ibid., p. 235. In this letter he states, ' I have almost finished the last 

 number of H. Spencer and am astonished at its prodigaUty of original 

 thought. But the reflection constantly recurred to me that each sugges- 

 tion, to be of real value to science, would require years of work.' 



» Life and Letters, vol. iii, p. I30, • Ibid., p. 168. 



